Chapter 19

My fingers gripped tightly at the phone, and I held my breath as much as I could. It was steady enough, at least as far as I could tell. But it was hard. It was very hard.

"So what have they got you doing?" He asked me.

"I'm on recruitment up here. They're trying to get the university lecturers. I suppose that's reasonable."

Dad cackled. "Knowledge is power. Isn't that what they say?"

I kept my eyes on the entrance to the alleyway. There was a group on the other side of the road, but I would have been too far in the shadows for them to see. Not that they would care about me, anyway. They were so obviously on their way to the nearest bar.

"They could get worse," I replied. "I'm sorry I didn't stick around to tell you. The Sub-Visser up here is very demanding."

"It's okay, I understand. At least we know now."

"At least we know…" I repeated quietly.

"When you're down here again, we can have a catch-up. The pool is small, but we're a close group. It's a lot less formal. You'll enjoy it. No chance of the Visser visiting, either. Probably why it's such a relaxed atmosphere."

I shuddered. To hear my Dad's voice so nonchalant was terrifying. "Sorry, Asrelt, I have to go. I'm being approached."

"Oh, okay. Talk soon."

I took the phone from my ear and disconnected the call. I collapsed back against the damp wall and choked a silent tear. There was time to compose myself before entering the Rising Sun, just down the road, where we'd agreed to meet again for what would either be a pleasant drink or some important meeting.

Nobody knew. Tonight they would. What might start as a pleasant drink would certainly not end that way. I just had to keep my mask on. Keep calm, keep cool, keep composed. I'd had a couple days to recover and take the news, but it remained like a hot iron to my chest, still burning just as bright and mercilessly.

Come on, Amy. It needs to be done.

My phone was placed firmly into my jeans pocket and I walked out into the night. Just down the road I saw The Rising Sun, a beacon on the horizon. There was nobody outside, and we'd chosen what was usually a quiet night, so we didn't expect there to be many people. When I walked through the big heavy wooden door, I was immediately greeted by the kindly face of Douglas, tail wagging and tongue lapping. I gave him a pat on the head and indulged in the moment. I smiled, and for just that moment I forgot it all.

Douglas scuttled off at the promise of some dropped pork scratchings beside the bar. At the call of my name, I spotted George, Oliver and Kiani in their usual spot beside the glowing fireplace. Before the fourth and empty seat was a tumbler glass, filled with a pink Gin and Tonic that awaited my attendance. I tried to maintain the smile the Douglas afforded me, but it faltered. They thought nothing of it.

"Hi, Amy," George greeted as I shifted the chair to sit. "You didn't call. Have a good weekend?"

"Yeah, yeah. Fine." I responded with false enthusiasm.

I looked at all of their faces. George's, Kiani's… Oliver was smiled. Grinning, almost.

How odd that that didn't seem right. Oliver was always smiling before we found out about the Yeerks. Since then he'd been little more than a husk. Now he was smiling like he'd been before?

"You look happy." I said to him.

"He got some good news," Kiani explained. "Tell her, Oli."

He leaned forward, an invitation for me to do the same. "I got a note from Bert," He spoke quietly. "He's been watching my mum."

The word stung. Hiding that, I asked, "What did the note say?"

"She lost her job months ago," He replied with unhindered glee. "She's been hiding it from us. She got two cleaning jobs in the city and she's too proud to say it! That's why she's not acting right!"

I stared at him, no longer able to hold a straight face. His hauntingly ecstatic response to such news was not at all what I'd expected.

"Amy?"

My eyes veered to George. He was curious, and he was always the first to know when something was wrong with me.

Kiani spoke up. "Isn't that great? Panic over, we can all sleep easier tonight, huh?"

I felt like punching her. Punching Oliver. Then I would have collapsed into George's arms. Everybody else could have died, for all I cared.

George was past curiosity. "What's wrong?"

"My family is infested."

"Oh…" Kiani gasped. I could hear her hand slap like a clamp around her own jaw. I could only imagine Oliver's stupid grin vanishing.

I could only look at George, and he was watching me with upmost sympathy. His hand quickly found mine. "What makes you say that?" He asked me gently.

I struggling to churn out the words. "I saw… They went to a Yeerk Pool. In the museum near home. Then I spoke to Dad. He's one of them. So are Mum and Danny."

"Geez…" Oliver sighed. "Amy, I'm so, so sorry. Really sorry."

"No, it's fine," I told him though I still looked to George. "You didn't know."

"We need to tell Bert," George insisted, forcibly but his voice restrained to be hushed in the quiet pub. "Maybe he can help."

"I spoke to Isaac." I replied, squeezing his hand.

"You spoke to Isaac before us?!" Kiani butted in.

I was momentarily drawn away from George to look at her. "Does it really matter?!"

"Yeah!" She exclaimed. She flinched, and I suspected that Oliver had nudged her under the table in order to draw her attention to her own volume. "We're a team, aren't we?"

"We are," I responded, before turning back to George. "I didn't know what to do… I told my Dad – or that Yeerk – that I was one of them. I went to them because I needed their help, and quick."

George was stunned, and he seethed, "You told him you were one of them?!"

"I didn't know what else to do!" I insisted, once more on the verge of breaking down under their interrogation. "They were going to take me down into the Yeerk pool. I had to do something!"

Oliver asked, "So they think you're a Yeerk now?"

I nodded solemnly. "Yeah, they do. I've just told Dad that I'm a recruiter up here. Isaac gave me a backstory to use if I get cornered."

"Backstory?" George asked.

I rubbed at my watery eyes. "I'm Erhaf Two-Six-Eight. This body is my first host and I've just been transported from the Yeerk home world. My siblings were left behind. I belong to Sub-Visser Thirteen and my relationship with him is tense but workable. My great ambition is to get off this stinking planet, get back home in a more capable host body and live out my days drinking fine wines until I find another Yeerk to fuck and then die."

They were silent, all three of them, which came as no surprise.

"I think I know why they chose us." I said lightly.

"Fuck…" Oliver groaned, this first to offer an opinion.

"I don't buy it. Now way." Kiani followed with a shake of her head.

George was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Something weird is going on here."

"No shit…" George said.

Kiani continued, "I don't think we're being told the full story here. We're being played, I know it. This is some fucking joke!"

"What are you talking about?" I demanded of her.

She got up, just about ready to storm off, but she wouldn't do so before an explanation. "We get told about these shits, then hardly two weeks pass and your family try to take you down into some Yeerk Pool? Good timing. Really convenient. What a fucking joke!"

She left, and we wouldn't expect her to return that evening. With her handbag and without a final glance she slammed the pub door on exit.

"She didn't need to act like that." George grumbled when we'd recovered from the shock of her outburst.

"You're surprised?" Oliver asked. "It is quite a coincidence."

"Maybe it's just that," George suggested. "She doesn't know for sure."

Oliver looked down at his half-empty pint glass in thought. "We're in deep shit, no matter what, aren't we?"

"Yeah…" George sighed. "I guess… I guess we just carry on doing what we're doing."

I heard that and pulled my hand instantly from his. "What? Carry on?! My family are...!" I realised that I was shouting. I lowered my voice. "My family are infested. You just want to carry on?!"

He looked genuinely apologetic. "Yeah, you're right, you're right. Sorry. Maybe we should talk to Bert and Isaac, see if they can't do something to help them."

"What can they do?" Oliver asked. "Free all of them? Wouldn't that just make the Yeerks aware that something is going on?"

"There'll be a way. Has to be." George said.

"I'll kill the fuckers." I spat.

George narrowed his eyes. "Eh?"

"Those Yeerks," I clarified. "They think they can take my family? I'll tear them to fucking shreds. I don't care who gets in the way. As soon as I get the chance, they're dead!"

George took my hand again, but it was gently and cautious. "If we take our time and do things right, we can save them."

I sighed, my sudden rush of anger subsiding as quickly as it had risen. I sobbed instead. "I just want them back…"

He held me closer now, holding my head against his chest as I allowed the emotion to escape. He continued to speak to Oliver. "We need to decide what we're doing next."

"We haven't been given any new instructions," He replied. "I guess they just want us to spy on the other sites. That country club and the training ground. Personally, I don't see why they can't do it themselves."

George paused for a while before speaking again. "It is a bit weird."

"Yeah. Weird. Maybe they just don't have the time to do it themselves. I get the feeling that they're involved in a lot of things. More than just us."

"Who even are they?" Oliver asked.

George had no answer. I thought about it, too. We'd never gotten an answer. Was Kiani trying to see something that we couldn't? She obviously held no trust in them and was frustrated that we were continuing to play along. Was she right to be so untrusting?

I started to lift myself away from George's chest, still sniffling. "They had those aliens. We haven't seen any apart from those dead ones."

"Did they even tell us what they did?" Oliver asked.

"They just said they were allies," George recalled. "They're here for justice."

"Do you sense bollocks?"

George shrugged to him. "Vague bollocks. We know nothing, really."

Oliver started to laugh. "We're invaded by aliens. Suddenly, we're met with a bunch of people giving out alien technology, and they won't tell us who they are. You know what? Kiani's right."

George wasn't ready to dive into conclusions. He'd always been so cautious. "Let's not just decide that sort of thing. Let's just be careful. We could keep an eye on them. We know where they're based."

"Where we think they're based." I spoke.

"We say nothing to them apart from the spy stuff," George insisted. "As far as they know, we're just playing along with their mission. We'll meet up here again tomorrow. Oli, can you bring Kiani?"

Oliver was staring straight ahead. He wasn't paying attention.

"Oli?"

He had seen something. From his seat against the wall he stared straight ahead. George followed his gaze, to his right, and he too saw something too distracting to ignore. I looked over my shoulder.

Across the pub, at the far end of the bar, was Douglas. With a dopey, panting smile and wagging tail, no less. But his eyes stared, and they watched…